Expansion ? Salary Cap Concessions for Victorian Clubs who "sell" games into NSW + Qld

[speedpeck23]

You are Carlton. You have a huge supporter base not only in Victoria but throughout Australia. You are languishing at the bottom of the ladder. You are subjected to the rigid rules of the AFL Salary Cap. The AFL knows that if you are winning games you draw a crowd. They want you to be competitive...but despite your credentials as a popular club they give you no tangible help. Despite your mediocre list the AFL gives you nothing apart from higher draft selections...which is just a lottery anyway. Free agents won't look at you much because they want to play in finals and play in Premierships.

High on the AFL wish list is EXPANSION. What do you care? The AFL expansion after all has probably helped to create your dilemma. You used to be seen as a power club, you had money and influence but the AFL has effectively cut you off at the knees with their socialist attitude to equalising the competition. The AFL has taken away your bargaining power.
........or have they?

You are a proud club. You wouldn't sell one or two of your home ground fixtures, surely?.....but maybe .....at the right price ?....
.....you realise the AFL wants to promote AFL Footy in NSW and QLD. You know you have a substantial supporter base in Sydney and Brisbane...unfortunately they don't see you play all that often....maybe that's just as well your hopeless anyway and don't look to have much of an immediate future..

..but wait!....Suddenly you get back to doing one of the things the Blues do best.....you cut a deal with the AFL.... ...You realise you can get a win-win for the Blues and the AFL... You agree to transfer one home game to NSW and one to QLD for the 2019 season on the condition that the AFL compensates you with salary cap concessions to rebuild your playing group.

Your Melbourne based fans shudder...they don't like it. We'd rather stay on the bottom of the ladder for the next five years than sell games to help the AFL expansion. ...But you ignore the fans and do it anyway....You climb the ladder...the crowds come back. You are happy the AFL is happy. During your rebuild you still have another 2 seasons of playing extra games in NSW and QLD. Then you are back challenging for the flag. Your supporters wear it...they get it... You grow your club by growing the game.

 

[Kwality]

games in Tas, NT, are you are a sneak ....

 

[speedpeck23]

games in Tas, NT, are you are a sneak ....

....not sure what you are getting at. I'm saying that Carlton as a high profile Club can be a nett contributor to the AFL Expansion and at the same time create a better opportunity to improve their list.

Right now a club like Richmond is promoting the AFL all over the place...clearly this is due to their on field performance which, because they historically have a large supporter base, results in massive attendances, incredible membership....no other sporting club in Australia outside some other AFL clubs is anywhere near this.

Seems to me that the AFL is wasting an opportunity to get the best out of a bad situation with Carlton performing so poorly. Of course I'm just using Carlton as the example...this could apply to most Victorian clubs if they were struggling.

...re NT, Tassie.....if this is behind your comment......would have a much better chance of getting their own teams if AFL was significantly more established in NSW and QLD. Certainly not advocating the Blues should relocate at all.

 

[Kwality]

....not sure what you are getting at. I'm saying that Carlton as a high profile Club can be a nett contributor to the AFL Expansion and at the same time create a better opportunity to improve their list.

Right now a club like Richmond is promoting the AFL all over the place...clearly this is due to their on field performance which, because they historically have a large supporter base, results in massive attendances, incredible membership....no other sporting club in Australia outside some other AFL clubs is anywhere near this.

Seems to me that the AFL is wasting an opportunity to get the best out of a bad situation with Carlton performing so poorly. Of course I'm just using Carlton as the example...this could apply to most Victorian clubs if they were struggling.

...re NT, Tassie.....if this is behind your comment......would have a much better chance of getting their own teams if AFL was significantly more established in NSW and QLD. Certainly not advocating the Blues should relocate at all.

There has been an acknowledgement of the oversupply of footy in Melbourne with games being sold generally games that would battle to break even in Melbourne, lack of bums on seats. Even the Hawks play as many of these games interstate, i.e Tas.
Why should these clubs get a leg up in the draft, when the gain is in the bank?

 

[telsor]

There has been an acknowledgement of the oversupply of footy in Melbourne with games being sold generally games that would battle to break even in Melbourne, lack of bums on seats. Even the Hawks play as many of these games interstate, i.e Tas.
Why should these clubs get a leg up in the draft, when the gain is in the bank?

Don't forget how much the AFL wants, and contrives, to have these games sold elsewhere. They allow them to have games in markets that aren't big enough to support a team.

The lack of profitability in Melbourne is largely due to the AFL taking a large slice of game revenue as well.

 

[Isaac Cumming No 1]

The days of Vic clubs playing home games in NSW are done. No way the AFL wants them to happen No way the NSW clubs want them to happen uness they're against a local club, and absolutely no way the Blues want them to happen.

Feels like a wierd troll of the Blues.

 

[speedpeck23]

The days of Vic clubs playing home games in NSW are done. No way the AFL wants them to happen No way the NSW clubs want them to happen uness they're against a local club, and absolutely no way the Blues want them to happen.

Feels like a wierd troll of the Blues.

Not a troll of the Blues. Of course play it against a local NSW club. Preferably the Giants...they need the publicity. Play it at a neutral venue in a large population base. Imagine Carlton playing GWS in Newcastle . You can call it a "home" game if you want in reality its a Promotional game for AFL and a way to raise the profile of both clubs. Compensate Carlton supporters in Melbourne by giving the club members home ground status for a big match at the G. Just like the AFL does for Hawthorn.....It's a win win...

 

[Kwality]

Carlton. You have a huge supporter base not only in Victoria but throughout Australia.

Not disputing your claim per se, but do you have anything to support the claim - what interstate games reflect the claimed support.

 

[speedpeck23]

Fair enough comment... will try and get some stats. Generally you find that the well supported Victorian clubs have a reasonable supporter base who will turn up at NSW and QLD venues.. ie Collingwood Richmond Essendon Carlton Geelong Hawthorn.....generally attract a higher attendance at matches in these states than other clubs. West Coast and Adelaide aren't far behind and one day will probably surpass the Victorian clubs. The Victorian clubs would have a greater number of older supporters who have relocated from Victoria to NSW and Qld. Whilst West Coast + Adelaide have large supporter bases they don't have the older demographic yet as these clubs don't go back 100 plus years. Check out AFL attendances at the Gabba and SCG in the last 20 years.... Carlton is still right up there despite not performing anywhere near as well as the others including West Coast and Adelaide. Right now Richmond is the classic example of the club which until 2017 has had little success in the AFL era but suddenly has 100,000 members.

 

[Rob]

Fair enough comment... will try and get some stats. Generally you find that the well supported Victorian clubs have a reasonable supporter base who will turn up at NSW and QLD venues.. ie Collingwood Richmond Essendon Carlton Geelong Hawthorn.....generally attract a higher attendance at matches in these states than other clubs. West Coast and Adelaide aren't far behind and one day will probably surpass the Victorian clubs. The Victorian clubs would have a greater number of older supporters who have relocated from Victoria to NSW and Qld. Whilst West Coast + Adelaide have large supporter bases they don't have the older demographic yet

LOL wut?

You been to a West Coast or Adelaide home game? I don't know about interstate but they both have plenty of fans in the older demographic in their own backyard.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

LOL wut?

You been to a West Coast or Adelaide home game? I don't know about interstate but they both have plenty of fans in the older demographic in their own backyard.

I thought WCE members got a free mobility walker with their membership

 

[speedpeck23]

LOL wut?

You been to a West Coast or Adelaide home game? I don't know about interstate but they both have plenty of fans in the older demographic in their own backyard.

Of course they've got stacks in their own backyard.....I'm talking about in NSW and Qld. West Coast and Adelaide have a massive supporter base...in fact they would be the biggest and most successful clubs if there was no draft/salary cap etc. Whilst these two are big clubs...they were formed in the late 80's and early 90's so as yet do not the same older relocated dyed in the wool generation of fans who live in the northern states.

The point I'm making is related to expansion in NSW and Qld....The Victorian clubs by virtue of their longevity have original diehard fans who grew up (in Victoria) following these clubs as far back as at least the 1950's....generations of families supporting these clubs. Over the years some of them have relocated to NSW and Qld....so you have a significant number with strong tangible links to these clubs who live in NSW and Qld. (eg It's like NSW people who now live in Melbourne may have grown up in Sydney following the Rabbitoh's may go to a Storm game and influence their family to go.) So there is a significant supporter base of these clubs in NSW and Qld (as there would be in all states) and it is in the interest of the AFL and it's clubs to consider how they can best utilize this reality in terms of expansion.

 

[speedpeck23]

There has been an acknowledgement of the oversupply of footy in Melbourne with games being sold generally games that would battle to break even in Melbourne, lack of bums on seats. Even the Hawks play as many of these games interstate, i.e Tas.
Why should these clubs get a leg up in the draft, when the gain is in the bank?

Hawthorn, thanks to President Ian Dicker back in the early 2000's took the Tassie idea and ran with it. Not many could see how successful this would be. This move was clearly based on a massive sponsorship opportunity for Hawthorn. I'm not suggesting the AFL give these clubs more money or that they would get anymore sponsorship dollars than they would in Victoria.

It's just about trying to encourage them to play more matches in expansion areas to promote AFL and in return give them something that is tangibly helpful in improving their position rather than draft picks which are hit and miss. It's a bit like back in the early 80's when the VFL would send 2 clubs up to Sydney to play matches before the Swans relocated. Now it would be so much easier....already there are two "home" teams in each of Sydney and Brisbane to play a match against...

 

[Kwality]

I thought WCE members got a free mobility walker with their membership

Provision of walkers to any on the waiting list for a gold coin donation, its working!